Ask any coach, and he’ll tell you: It’s not who you play, it’s when you play them. And if you’re playing a series of hot teams in succession, it could torpedo your season. Having typed that, here are seven of the toughest stretches of games Big Ten teams must play.

The Big Ten's best players were in Chicago on Monday and Tuesday for 2017 Big Ten Football Media Days. As BTN.com does every year, we conducted a player survey that included a respondent from all 14 schools.

CHICAGO — Kevin Wilson wasn’t at Big Ten media days, but he was a hot topic. Why not? The new Ohio State offensive coordinator may be the most important assistant coach in the Big Ten in 2017. Wilson was hired by Urban Meyer in the offseason to get the Buckeye offense back on track. And, in the process, get Ohio State back on top in the Big Ten. It’s hoped Wilson can restore the roar an offense that has lost its edge since coordinator Tom Herman left to coach Houston after a run to the 2014 national championship. Ed Warinner

As the Big Ten Network prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary in August, BTN president Mark Silverman today announced what lies ahead of the network at Big Ten Football media days. BTN Programming BTN Tailgate, BTN’s on-campus college football pregame show, will return for its second season and expand to two hours, now airing from 10 a.m. ET to noon ET. Analyst Stanley Jackson will join the crew of Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Spice Adams for 10 shows to serve as the home for Big Ten football fans this fall. Big Ten Elite: 2016 Penn State Football will debut

BTN and BTN2Go will provide more than 14 hours of live coverage at Big Ten Football Media Days in 2017. Coverage will include the press conferences of all 14 Big Ten head football coaches, as well as remarks by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. From 1 p.m. ET through 3 p.m. ET on Monday, July 24, BTN will televise remarks from Paul Chryst (Wisconsin), Tom Allen (Indiana), Lovie Smith (Illinois), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), DJ Durkin (Maryland), Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) and Urban Meyer (Ohio State). Immediately afterward, from 3 p.m. ET – 7 p.m. ET, the coaches and their students

The Mid-American Conference always has been a sort of “little brother” to the Big Ten, a proving ground of sorts. The two conferences have their roots in the heartland of the nation. And the two leagues often play each other in the non-conference.

This could be the “Year of the Running Back” in the Big Ten, with many big-time options doting rosters across the conference. And no back is better than Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, who is the league’s top Heisman contender and could be primed for a 2,000-yard season.

There is no shortage of great games that dot the Big Ten schedule in 2017. The best non-league game? Oklahoma at Ohio State. The best conference tilt? Penn State at Ohio State. Here is my ranking of the Top 25 games on the Big Ten schedule.